> Perhaps knowing maths is a bit like having dirty fingernails from doing manual labor.
Never tell this to someone who pursues pure mathematics. It's so absolutely opposite their whole mindset that math should focus on anything other than the beauty of mathematics that comparing it to manual labor may well make their heads explode.
Interesting sidenote: in Germany, the camps are subtly different: Geisteswissenschaften - "mind sciences" vs. Naturwissenschaften - "nature sciences". And mathematics belongs to the former (although most people are probably not aware of that and the same attitude criticised by TFA is quite common).
Never tell this to someone who pursues pure mathematics. It's so absolutely opposite their whole mindset that math should focus on anything other than the beauty of mathematics that comparing it to manual labor may well make their heads explode.